Who provides the therapy?

Me! A bilingual (Spanish-English) certified speech-language pathologist with over eight years of experience working with Spanish-English clients with various communication challenges.

How do I know if my child needs therapy?

Early intervention is the key to fast success in the development of speech and language skills. However, the challenge of identifying Bilingual children with speech and language delays has been well known by therapist and researchers. Despite the challenges that exist in identifying bilingual children with speech and language delays, developmental norms have been established with research throughout the world to assist us in better and accurate identification. In order to determine if your child needs therapy services a consultation and/or evaluation may be needed. Formal assessment and informal observation provides information regarding the skills that should be established in your child at her or his age.

How do I get started?

You have started already by reading the information in this website! The next step is to schedule an evaluation. The evaluation would determine the specific areas of intervention and would provide information regarding the appropriate frequency of therapy and the type of therapy needed. If you would prefer a consultation, please see information under consultation below for more information. I will be able to guide you on the best course of action. Each case is individual and completely confidential.

What if I had a recent evaluation done, do I still would need an evaluation to get services?

It depends on the evaluation done. I will review the evaluation and make sure all the important information has been obtained. For me, an excellent evaluation is the most important step towards good therapy progress. Why? Because the evaluation determines the areas of need and what would be the focus during therapy. Often, I see bilingual children been evaluated in solely one language when best practices clearly states that bilingual children must be evaluated in both languages they are exposed to.

Do you provide consultations?

Yes, in cases where a client has already been evaluated (elsewhere), or to determine whether a comprehensive assessment is necessary, I can schedule a consultation. The purpose of the consultation may be to:

• Provide a second opinion by reviewing written records and/or completing observations and informal diagnostic tasks
• Review and make recommendations about the need for ongoing treatment
• Consider the need for new treatment strategies, or
• Discuss whether additional referrals may be necessary.

I follow up every consultation with a description of the options available. Consultations are provided with no obligation for ongoing services.

How much time of therapy would I receive?

The frequency of therapy would depend on the clients’ needs and the severity of their condition.

Would I see progress?

In my personal experience most of my clients see progress and I would do anything to achieve progress (besides that would always be my goal). However, progress varies from client to client. The amount of progress also depends highly on the motivation, condition, and multiple variables that contribute to excellent intervention.

Would therapies be provided in English or Spanish?

Therapies would be provided in the client’s primary and preferred language. In young children who have been exposed to both Spanish and English and parents cannot determine dominant language, the Speech Pathologist would evaluate the child’s language skills in each language and recommend and educated opinion for parents to consider

What types of programs are provided?

There are thousand of programs available now day. I am familiar with several programs and if I am not, I will clearly let you know. Contact me if you have specific questions about a program of preference.

How much does it cost?

Evaluation and therapy services are charged by time. The average evaluation takes approximately an hour per language. However, in some cases the evaluation time may be less or more, depending on the individual client’s need. Therapy services are determined based on individual’s needs and can run from 30, 45, or 60-minute sessions. Home Program and parent’s hands-on training are also available in 30, 45, 60- minute sessions. Every situation is unique, contact me for a specific rate quote.

Why does my child need individual therapy if he/she is receiving therapy in school?

Almost always, therapy through the school system is administered in a group setting. Also, many restrictions due to scheduling, time-restriction, and School Board policy interfere with the consistency of the therapy. Individual private therapy focuses exclusively on your child. This gives me the opportunity to learn and use your child’s strengths to build on and elicit other skills that are lagging. School based therapy often is a wonderful adjunct to individual therapy as it can provide additional opportunities to practice newly acquired skills.

What can I do at home to help my child with the therapy process?

As your therapist, my commitment is to provide you with excellent services. Therefore, I will always be available to provide you ideas, home-programs, and even materials to use at home. My goal is to work collaboratively with my clients and their family to be successful in the shortest time possible!